Peace of Mind
by Aurenna
Summary: Being a hero will take some practice. Not everyone wants to play the game. And Roxanne? She's just trying to find her place.
1. That Sweet Silence

He was aware that she was saying something. Megamind hunched down further in the back of the car, his forehead creasing briefly in frustration. All he wanted was to be left alone. _Just... get me home, and leave me alone._ Minion would be there. Minion would take care of him. Without talking and doing things that didn't involve taking him home and leaving him alone.

The car had stopped. Were they home? He raised his head just a little to peer out the window. No. There were trees out there. He wanted to go home. Why weren't they home?

He forced himself to pay attention to her voice. "...it'll do you good," she was saying. Something about energy. He curled back in on himself as she shut the door. Silence. Silence was good. For a few minutes he was alone with his pain, he and it, it and him, no one and nothing else. And it was better. There was no voice to listen to, no person to be aware of. Nothing to spend his energy on except existing. For a few minutes he enjoyed the quiet. In agony.

When the door opened again he lifted his head, irritated, and two bottles of energy drink were thrust towards him.

"Here. The energy will be good for you."

It would be. He knew that. Pain was exhausting, and the sugar would help. But he didn't want to hear that right now, didn't want to see it, wanted to be alone again with the blessed silence.

" _Home._ "

"I know. We're getting there. Drink."

He didn't drink. His hand was hurting. Taking the cap off the bottle was too much. He felt stubborn and cold, cold inside. He wanted to be home. Minion would take care of him.

Perhaps he drifted off, and they were there, and he heard the door opening and Roxanne's voice as she moved away. Heavy metallic clangs as Minion hurried over, and a wave of relief passed through him because now he was home, and Minion would take care of him.

* * *

Roxanne hovered. She didn't like being a person who hovered. But what else could she do? She hovered, watching as Minion gently - _gently_ \- lifted Megamind out of the back of the car. _Careful of his arm_ , she thought but did not say. _Careful of his ribs, his neck, please_. As if Minion would ever be less than careful.

When she had found him, following the distraught brainbots through Metrocity, he had given her a look of pure, unadulterated relief. His head had fallen back against the alley wall as he let out a sigh that was almost a sob. And she hadn't panicked, seeing him sitting there, bruised and battered and bleeding. Not Roxanne Ritchie. She was reliable. She was strong. So she had crouched beside him, a brainbot hovering at each shoulder, and asked him what he wanted her to do.

Moving him had been hell. Pain made him short-tempered, barking orders in a strained voice and then grimacing until finally his elastic face became a still mask as he withdrew behind it. He had let her help him to the invisible car, but would not let her touch his crushed hand, cradling it against his bruised chest with his other arm and leaning against her, shoulder to shoulder, the brainbots hurrying to open the door for them.

They'd gone to _her_. The idea filled her with a quiet warmth. Her place was closer than the Lair, and they had come to her for help instead of travelling the extra distance. _Bowb_ ing, pushing her toward the door, waiting in the lobby to usher her to her car. They'd come to _her_. Did he ask them to? Or did they make that decision themselves?

Minion hadn't been alerted, hadn't known. He'd been cooking while his boss had been lying in an alleyway, wracked with pain. The fish's expression when she'd run over from the car and blurted out "Megamind's hurt" would haunt her. Horror, and guilt, and terror, all at once. She rubbed her arm. He was efficient, she'd give him that. After a strangled squeal of fear the look had dropped from his face, his emotions pushed aside so he could work.

Watching the fish-in-a-robotic-gorilla-suit gently ease Megamind down onto his bed, she could understand why he put so much faith in him. Minion was devoted to the man. Keeping him safe was his _job_. She told herself this, chewing her lip as she watched the care with which Minion treated him. How relaxed he looked in those monstrous robotic arms, compared to how hunched and stiff he had been on the back seat of the car. Megamind trusted Minion, more than anyone else. Roxanne knew this, but it had still smarted when he had rasped out Minion's name followed by _home,_ and then ignored her.

"I - I got him energy drinks," she said, when Minion had him settled.

Minion bobbed a nod inside his globe. "Good thinking, Miss Ritchie." But he didn't ask her to get them. Instead he fetched a syringe and filled it, Megamind's green eyes watching him in silence until the medication took effect, and they closed.


	2. Succour

It was warm and he was home. Minion had given him an analgesic, and a sedative, and blessed unconsciousness had claimed him. Dear, dear Minion.

Megamind opened his eyes, and saw that Minion had set the bones in his left arm while he'd slept. His hand, too, was bound.

That might be trouble. The ribs would heal themselves, in time. His neck was bruised but otherwise fine. His arm and hand, however, had been mangled; the arm would heal, but the hand? Surgery might be necessary, and he didn't trust anyone but himself to perform so delicate an operation. Which posed a problem. As it was, he might never regain full use of it.

Never mind. The thugs who'd jumped him would regret it. He wouldn't need to be on top form to make sure of that. They were nothing, really - nothing, and lucky.

Megamind pushed himself upright with a yawn, his hand stopping halfway to his mouth when he saw her. Roxanne, fast asleep, curled up on a chair on the other side of the room. A chair that belonged somewhere else; she must have dragged it here. To watch over him while he slept.

He smiled fondly at her. Started composing in his mind what he would say when she woke up. Thank you, for a start.

He hadn't exactly treated her like the marvellous creature she was. An apology might even be in order. He had snapped at her, when she had knocked his arm while helping him into the car. She had talked, and he had laid in silence hoping she would stop. Yes, he supposed he ought to apologise. First, "thank you", then "I'm sorry".

"Sir! You're awake!"

Minion had a tray in his hands and a beaming smile plastered across his fishy face. Megamind grinned back at him, holding out his arms.

"Minion, you fantastic fish, you! I can always count on you." Movement caught his eye, and he ammended his statement with a nod toward the woman waking in the corner. "And Ms Ritchie, of course." He swallowed. "I owe you an apology, Roxanne..."

But she waved a hand and gave him a smile that filled his chest with warmth. "No need. You were in pain. I get it."

Minion placed the tray in front of him, moving with the utmost care. Megamind smiled up at his old friend. Doughnuts, and two glasses of... energy drink? Not his usual morning coffee... Ah. The bottles Roxanne had bought him.

Minion excused himself, and Megamind turned himself to the task of Ms Ritchie. He owed her more than an apology. She'd found him in a bad way. Thank the stars for the brainbots. How had they known to go to her?

She rose now, capturing his attention. Her clothes were mussed, stained here and there from the alleyway, dirt and blood. Her face was strangely peaceful. She stretched, hands above her head, her back made a horrific cracking noise. She caught his look of astonishment and made a face.

"Oof. Sleeping in a chair," she said by way of explanation. Then she slipped across the floor to perch on the side of his bed.

"You're really feeling better? No pain?"

"No, I -" He caught the scepticism in her eyes. "...Well, some," he admitted. He tried not to think about his hand. "The analgesics Minion gave me should last a while longer." He dropped his eyes to the tray, and swallowed. "Thank you for getting me home," he said. "Sorry I was... unpleasant." He didn't want to look at her, and busied himself instead with tearing a doughnut into quarters. She wasn't saying anything. Why wasn't she saying anything? The woman was such a damn enigma. He gave up, and glanced over at her.

She was watching him, a bemused expression on her face, still clouded with sleep. She reached out, then, and touched his uninjured arm, stroking slowly, carefully down the length, past the elbow, finally taking the piece of doughnut from his hand and popping it into her mouth.

"I'm glad you're alright," she said around the doughnut. "I was worried. I watched Minion, you know, fixing you up..." She swallowed. "When he took off your gauntlet... We had to cut it off." She looked away for a moment, a shadow passing over her face. "I'm glad you were asleep for that." When she looked back, the troubled expression had gone. "Minion told me a few things about your species, your..." she gestured vaguely, "biology. He said you heal fast. He was right... You've been out a long time, but you look so much better. " She smiled. "You're really remarkable, you know that?"

He grinned at the compliment. "Remarkable? Ms Ritchie, I'm Megamind! Did it really take you this long to notice? Some reporter you are!"

She chuckled at his teasing, then stifled a yawn. "God, I'm tired. Sorry - what's the time?" She glanced at her watch, all sleepy eyes and messy hair, then came alive like a current had passed through her. "Oh, _crap._ "

He peered over at her watch. "Late for work?"

"Crap, crap, _crap_." She grabbed a doughnut and swallowed a few frantic mouthfuls of the bright green soda. "Sorry Megs, I gotta go - Oh _fuck_ what happened to my blouse? Oh my god. I'm gonna have to go home and change."

Then she was out the door, yelling for Minion, asking if he could drop her home. Megamind could hear but not make out his friend's distant reply, and then the fish's head was poking in the doorway, worried expression on his face.

"Sir, Ms Ritchie would like me to drop her home, but I don't want to leave you alone..."

"Go, Minion! I'll be fine. And take her to work afterwards. She's left her car way out on the other side of town."

The fish was reluctant, but he did as he was told.

"I'll be _fine_ ," Megamind called after him.

"If you say so, sir. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Muffled conversation, and a brain-bot zipped into the room, _bowg_ ing at him.

"Did Uncle Minion send you in to keep an eye on me?" he asked the robot, raising a stern eyebrow.

The brain-bot hung its head. _Bowg._

"Well, alright. If it will make Uncle Minion feel better, you can stay."

The little robot lit up - literally - and flew over to land next to him on the bed. With utmost adoration, it watched him lift a doughnut to his mouth. Heh. Well, it wasn't Roxanne Ritchie, but at least it was company. He scratched the little bot on its dome, and smiled as it _bowg_ ed in pure happiness.


	3. Solicitude

AN: Hi guys! Thanks so much for reading! I have to confess, I started writing this after a dream and I'm not _entirely_ sure where it's going, but I have some ideas and I'm going to see what happens. It's my first MM fic, so I'm hoping I stay more or less in character. Thanks!

* * *

Minion was tense. The brain-bots were in communication with one another, and the one he had instructed to "stay with Daddy" would tell the one he had brought along in the invisible car if there were some sort of problem. He trusted the things, at least as far as their Daddy was concerned.

That didn't stop him worrying. His place was by Sir's side, not out here. Roxanne wanted to pick up her car on the way to work; she'd left her briefcase in it, apparently. Minion was not pleased that their trip had been extended. At least driving he had an outlet for his stress, weaving in and out of traffic as fast as he could go. Just sitting here, waiting, was getting on his nerves. He was liable to start hyperventilating or something if she didn't hurry up.

"Ready!" A breathless Roxanne jumped into the car beside him, startling a man on the sidewalk who had just seen the woman disappear into thin air.

"You look very smart, Ms Ritchie," Minion said to her. He might be stressed, but he'd never be so stressed he'd be impolite, especially to Ms Ritchie, who had always been such a good sport. Even last night, clearly as afraid as he was, she had been controlled and diligent and had helped him whenever she could. He had seriously appreciated her being there, and had told her so.

Sir's condition had been as bad as Minion had ever seen him, and it was only the task of caring for him that had kept the fish from crumbling. Ms Ritchie had lent her aid to anything he had asked of her. It was only after their job was done, when they had retired to the kitchen for a soothing cup of tea, that either of them had broken down. He had sat with his fishbowl in his hands, sobbing quietly, distraught and relieved, and she had put her arm around his furry shoulders. He had looked over to see her face streaked with silent tears. So they were each other's comfort as their stress levels boiled over. They took turns to watch him, after that, neither willing to leave Megamind without at least the other one present.

She had been invaluable. Minion would not forget that.

But that didn't mean he was going to slow down. He wanted to get back to the Lair as fast as he could, so he ignored her pleas as he sped, invisibly, through the morning traffic.

"I can't understand how you can drive like this," she said, hiding behind her hands.

"Robot reflexes," he answered, turning a corner at top speed as if to illustrate the point.

"Yeah, whatever." She peeked out from between her fingers. "We're almost there, just across that next intersection."

He drew to a stop, and she jumped out of the invisible car with a cry of thanks. Minion was about to speed off, when his eyes caught on the dark brick of the alleyway.

 _There_. It had happened there.

He didn't even know what, not yet. Who had managed to get a drop on his boss - and do such damage?

Slowly, Minion got out of the car.

Roxanne caught his eye, and stepped back out onto the pavement. She nodded.

"That's the place."

Minion swallowed.

"You can go in. He didn't bleed all that much, or anything. It's OK."

Minion noted the sympathetic tone in her voice, and was grateful for it. Ms Ritchie truly understood the connection between him and Sir. With a nod of thanks, he crept into the alleyway.

Ms Ritchie was right, there wasn't much blood. It had mostly come from Megamind's mangled hand. Otherwise, there was nothing to indicate anything out of the ordinary had happened here.

"Listen, I gotta go to work." Roxanne tucked a stray hair behind her ear. "You'll call me, if..."

Minion nodded. "Nothing will happen," he says. "He should be fine. He's a genius, he'll already be thinking of a way to fix his hand."

She smiled. "I know. But call me."

"I will."

She left. With a glance back towards the alleyway, Minion got into the car and drove himself home.


	4. CSI

For some reason, Roxanne's boss didn't consider "Megamind was really beat up" a legitimate excuse for missing a morning meeting. After all, he'd said, Metroman had never seemed to do any permanent damage, and _he_ could bend steel.

Roxanne took her lumps and didn't bother saying that Metroman was probably pulling his punches. As it was, Megamind probably wouldn't thank her for telling someone he was out of commission. She should have kept her damn mouth shut. Who knew who was out there, plotting?

And that was the concerning thing. Someone had deliberately hurt him, which must have taken some doing. But they hadn't _killed_ him. They could have, assuming Megamind hadn't fended them off. He didn't look like he was in much of a position to fend off a mosquito bite when she'd found him, but his alien adrenaline was a hell of a thing. You never knew.

Her reporter mind was ticking. There was a story here. Not one she intended to tell the citizens of Metrocity - at least, not until everything was a resolved. But it was a story she definitely wanted to track down.

But not while she was on the clock. Roxanne put on her bright, sensible reporter face and did her local reporting, today on a three-car collision at a busy intersection. A fire had started, but thankfully no one had been killed. _Please, god, let it not have been Minion's fault_. He should have been home by then but she couldn't help the stab of guilt she felt when she arrived at an intersection they'd sped through that very morning.

When she headed out of the office for the day, she checked her messages. Minion hadn't called, but she wanted to touch base with him before heading out to hunt down clues in that alleyway. There had to have been _something_ , and she didn't want to leave it another night. Every minute she wasted clues were getting cold. She'd check out the place this evening, and ask Megamind for his side of things tomorrow.

Or tonight. She could pick up some clothes and call by there afterwards. She bit her lip. She _did_ want to see him, but they hadn't really spent the night together before. Last night had been the first time she'd slept in the same room as him - if you didn't count all the gas-induced kidnapping naps, anyway. They'd been technically together for months, watching movies and introducing one another to their favourite music... but after his Bernard betrayal and the whole Titan thing, it was still a delicate affair. He was new to relationships, and hell it'd been a long time since she'd been a part of anything serious. She didn't want to push him, or herself, come to that.

No. She'd go home, and see him tomorrow after work.

But first, she had to call Minion.

It was Megamind who picked up, and she cursed herself inwardly. She hadn't expected him to answer the old cellphone, but then, why did it matter?

"Megs! How are you?"

"I wish people would quit asking me that. It's all I've been hearing from Minion all day!" A pause at the other end of the line, then, his voice tight, "My arm - my hand - Minion's being stingy with the painkillers."

"I thought they were long-lasting."

"They are. But the time between the effects wearing off and the next dose... anyway, will you... uh... be coming round...?"

God _damn_ it.

"No, I uh, I have something I need to do. For work. Sorry."

"Oh." The disappointment in his voice stung. "Uh, no matter, just... thought we could watch a movie or something," he rallied. "Can't do anything with this hand."

"Yeah." For a man so into drawing and building and brainstorming, not being able to work on anything must be driving him crazy. At least now his hand was hurting too much to really consider it. It was when it started healing he'd really be bouncing off the walls.

She told him to take care of himself and begged off the phone. If it had been Minion who'd picked up, she'd have told him about her plans to return to the alley. Megamind, well... she didn't want him doing something stupid like coming out after her.

"Roxanne! You headed somewhere? You have your 'Determined Face' on."

She span on her heel in the parking lot to see Rick, her new camera technician, giving her a fond smile. She relaxed an iota. Rick had been hugely supportive since she had come back to work, post-Titan. He was new to the channel, but dedicated, and a real treat to work with every day. Hal had... well, he'd always been there, it was true, but with Hal it was always sort of creepy, like he'd just been waiting for her call. Rick had a life. He had a boyfriend. He had a daughter. And he was, more quickly than she had thought possible, turning into someone Roxanne felt she could trust.

So she smiled back at him when she said "No, not really, Rick. Nothing I need help on, anyway. You go home and kiss Sally for me."

His lips twitched into a wider smile. "I will. You be careful out there, spitfire. Lemme know if you need some back-up." He threw her a lazy salute and walked past her towards his car.

Phew. Roxanne blew air up over her face. Rick was a good guy but she needed her space for this one. Besides, no one else needed to know Megamind wasn't in great shape. She shouldn't even have told her boss. _That's what letting yourself get flustered will get you_ , she berated herself. "Flustered" wasn't a word she wanted associated with herself.

The alleyway was just as she'd left it. Well, almost. When she stepped into the shadows of the two buildings she heard a soft _bowg_ , and looked up to see one of the brain-bots, poking its little camera eye out of hiding.

"Have you been keeping an eye out?" she asked it in a hushed voice.

The little robot approximated a nod.

Megamind would know she was here, then. But he was keeping watch, to see who was poking around. That was smart.

She hestitated, then said to the brain-bot, "Tell Daddy hi from me."

Another soft _bowg_ , and it snuck back under the eaves where it had been hiding.

Roxanne turned her attention to the alley, really for the first time. This morning had been a panicked rush, and last night... well, she hadn't really been concentrating on the surroundings. Now, she tried to focus, seeing what was there, what was out of place, what didn't belong.

Cigarette butts, which might be important or might be totally irrelevant. The small patch of dried blood by the wall, which didn't help. A garbage can knocked over... _wait..._

She righted the garbage can, pulling out her small flashlight to get a better look in and around it. Yes, there was a small spatter of blood here, like... from an object...

A shine of blood from the can liner drew her to it, and she pulled the object from amongst the garbage with the aid of a tissue. A hammer, with a squareish, heavy head to it. The metal - iron? Lead? - was stained with dried blood. Long spatterings of it had dried on the wooden handle.

Fuck. Okay. This was evidence. This was - this was real evidence.

She set it down on the asphalt and pulled a plastic evidence bag from her back pocket. With care, she dropped the mallet inside and snapped the top of the bag closed.

Roxanne exhaled. Okay. Keep looking.

Tiny spots of blood here and there led her further down the alley. The back of the alley was closed off by another building, and suddenly, Roxanne paused. A blind alley. Why hadn't she noticed that before? A _blind_ alley. Did they chase him in here? Lay a trap for him? Or... She ran her eyes over the barred window of the building in front of her, then looked over her shoulder, searching for doors. _They could have come from one of these buildings._

The thought made a chill run through her. Did they live here, work here? Were they here right now, watching?

She swallowed, and shook her head. Focus, Ritchie. Get the story, then get out of here.

The short trail ended with a larger splatter near the end of the alleyway. There was a broken bottle here, with some blood on it. Not his, she guessed. Though the blood on the ground certainly was. She crouched for a closer look. Was that... a bit of blue? _Skin?_

Her stomach roiled. She lurched upwards and stepped away, taking a few deep breaths to calm her stomach. Setting her jaw, she turned back, and pulled out her cellphone to take a picture.

There, partly outlined in blood, was a footprint. _A_ _clue_.


	5. Sleepless

The dreams were relentless. She'd answer the brain-bots' call and rush to the alleyway, but he'd be dead this time. She'd be too late, his injuries more severe, blood pooling across the ground. Or he wouldn't be there at all, leaving a trail of bloody boot-prints that she'd follow and follow but never find him. In each dream she would fall to her knees, screaming her frustration, her anger, her loss. Screaming that _it wasn't fair_ , it wasn't right. And then it would rain.

She didn't want to go back to sleep this time. The clock blinked 3:00am; hours left in which to get a decent night's sleep. No. She couldn't, not again, she didn't want to think about blood any more. There hadn't even _been_ that much blood.

Last night, when she'd dragged a chair into his room and fallen asleep watching him breathe, she'd been too exhausted to dream at all. Time had passed without her noticing, dead to the world. Tonight it was all she could do to get a few minutes REM sleep that didn't have her waking to her pillow soaked with sweat and tears.

Roxanne sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She'd been afraid when she'd found him, afraid driving him home, afraid when she'd got there and helped Minion put him back together. The sight of his hand - broken, bleeding, swollen - had made her feel ill. She'd pushed it all down, only allowing herself to cry when they'd done all they could. It was relief she'd felt then, that he was home and safe, that they'd patched him up OK, that they could rest. Crying had felt good. But the fear had slunk back out of the shadows and was making itself known in her dreams.

It had been like this after... after Titan. When she'd seem Megamind impaled on the spike of that building her heart had stopped. In the excitement of the fight, the heat of the moment, adrenaline running through her so she couldn't feel the pain of her own injuries, nothing had mattered but safety, the next moment, the next move. But it had been Minion, not Megamind, and only his suit was impaled. She'd felt terror, and then relief. It was only later that night, when Megamind had driven her home and she had said goodnight with a chaste kiss... She had thought the expression of wonder on his face would keep her warm that night. Instead she was plagued with nightmares. Titan with his hands on her, carrying her away. Titan finding her no matter how well she hid herself. Megamind impaled on that spike, dying before she could find the words to tell him how she felt. The image never left her, never mind that she knew how things had turned out. It still flashed across the back of her eyelids some nights, like the sight of Metrocity rising up to meet her.

And now it seemed she had a new image to add to her collection. She squeezed her eyes shut against the threat of tears. He hadn't died. Hadn't even come close. _He's fine. He's alive. I'll see him tomorrow - today. Soon. He'll be happy and alive, grinning and joking like he was yesterday. He's alive._

Yet still, a part of her was so, so afraid that he would somehow slip away from her.


	6. Passing Time

It had been far too long since he'd seen Roxanne. A whole day, even. That wasn't right.

He'd been surprised when she called to check on him. Called, not come around. Her tone had been evasive, but she promised she'd be over today after work. Firmly, warmly, she told him to take care of himself. He had made some joke, or tried to, and she'd cut him off, "I'm serious, Megamind. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you," and hung up.

He'd felt giddy. They'd been taking things slow - after all, the first few months of their, well, "courtship", he hadn't exactly been honest with her. So they'd started again. And it was different now. While Bernard and Roxanne had always been out, at the park or a café, she and Megamind tended to stay in. They got to know each other, talking about his species, what he remembered about his planet and his parents. She talked about hers for the first time, how her mother lived in Seattle and her father in Vienna, and how they'd raised her from different sides of the globe to love books and music and to never let go when she wanted something. She'd brought in some of her favourite records, bands he didn't know, and he'd dragged her out onto a clear spot in the Lair to dance to them.

It was slow, but it was good. He valued every second he spent with her, aware that in more ways than one he could have lost her. So he surprised himself with how deeply disappointed he had been when she did not come over to spend the night as she had done the night before - albeit curled up in a chair. But her comment over the phone had been laced with feeling, and he rolled it around in his mind, delighting in it. Yes, it made up for not seeing her. She _cared_. And she would be over tonight.

Megamind toyed with his pencil. He was sketching his own hand - or his hand as it should be. He had, he would modestly admit, a spectacular memory, and could reproduce it in stunning detail. The inside of it, the tendons and bones, he had never seen, but with a photograph of a dissected human hand, some of Leonardo da Vinci's sketches, and his own right hand flexing before him, he made some educated guesses.

Some of the small bones in his hand had been damaged, he knew. The extent of that damage he could not yet tell. They could be fixed, or even replaced, but he would be unable to do the operation himself. A human hospital was out of the question; if they even had any idea how to treat him, he didn't trust them not to turn an alien over to certain authorities. Hippocratic oath or no hippocratic oath.

But he was Megamind. He could solve this problem. He could solve _any_ problem.

So. First a CT scan, once he'd built the scanner. That in itself would be no easy task with one hand. Then - and he was quite proud of this idea - a surgical robot, into which he could, based on the CT scan, program every move that would need to be made to perform the surgery. Minion would be there to ensure all went well, and administer the sedatives. Perfect.

For now, he'd just have to deal with a hand that wasn't as functional as he'd like. Or at all, frankly. He looked mournfully at the mass of bandages. He hadn't even seen it yet. He didn't want to. Roxanne's reaction hadn't been reassuring, and Minion had been evasive when he'd asked. No matter. It'd look better when the swelling had gone down, anyway.

No, it was time to start planning what he was going to do to those thugs who had knocked him down and driven that club hammer down onto that hand, over and over. All to keep his nose out of something or other - although what exactly he had been involved in that had set them off he had no idea. He'd have to find out. And then... find _them_.

Dehydration was too good for them. But he was a good guy now, so it, or something like it, would have to do. They would go to prison.

And then, said the quiet voice at the back of his mind, his old prison uncles would deal with them.

It was probably wrong of him to chuckle quietly to himself at the thought. He'd seen prison justice meted out many times. It was something his uncles had always hidden from him while he was growing up, strangely protective as they were in their way. It had take some time to realise what was going on, and why. That sort of thing... it had never appealed to him. This time, hero or no, he'd take a certain satisfaction in it.

Megamind set down his pencil and rubbed his long fingers along his jaw. It was stiff, achey, though he didn't remember taking a punch to it. It was his neck they had gone for, one jumping up behind him to grab him in a lock while others kicked behind his knees to get him to the ground. That made sense, really; slender as it was, his neck was an obvious weak point. And hell, had it bruised. But why the jaw?

Rubbing it with his fingertips and moving it from side to side, loosening stiff muscles, Megamind realised he'd been clenching his teeth against pain for the better part of a day and a half.

Minion sat on the other side of the room, watching his boss at work. He still didn't feel comfortable enough leaving the man alone for too long, and anyway, he enjoyed watching Sir work. The passion that stirred him up, the enthusiasm - if he was working, he was OK.

Megamind was perched in front of a drafting board, reference images held aloft by several brain-bots. He sat down his pencil, held out his hand in front of him, a frown drawing his dark eyebrows together. Then he would be sketching again, biting his lip, his green eyes lit up.

Occasionally a brain-bot would bring something over to him, and, all absent-minded, he would reach up with the wrong hand. His hand wouldn't grasp, the change in altitude and blood flow would make it throb, and he'd remember again, shooting an irritated look at the little machine before reaching with his right hand to take whatever it had brought him. Each time he grew more and more frustrated with himself, and what had started as a little amusing was starting to worry Minion.

"Sir, why don't you take a break?"

He ducked as Megamind threw his pencil at him. He was not good at ducking, and the pencil bounced harmlessly off his globe to break in two on the floor.

"Sir - "

"All I did yesterday was have a break! I am _done_ with breaks!"

"You can't be done with breaks, sir. You haven't finished healing yet." Minion held his giant gorilla hands out in front of him, trying to soothe his frustrated boss as he stepped toward him. "It's going to take some time."

"I _know_ that, Minion!"

The fish laid a sympathetic hand on his shoulder, and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"I'm sorry, sir."

Megamind pouted up at him, then sighed. "Ah, Minion. I'm just so _frustrated._ I hate not being able to work."

"I know, sir. It won't be for too long. And Ms Ritchie will be around this evening. That'll cheer you up."

A mention of Ms Ritchie never failed to bring a smile to Megamind's lips.

"That's true. Do you think she'd like to watch a movie? I just torrented the director's cut of _Aliens_."

"I'm not sure heroes are meant to torrent, sir. It's stealing."

"Oh, _Minion_. Honestly. Don't be such a pill."


End file.
